In the retail trade it is desirable to be able to deliver and present products at specific locations, for example in a shop. It is particularly desirable to be able to present products such as filled canned and bottled drinks at defined, sales-promotional locations to which the customers' attention can easily be drawn, for example above or near a cash desk. Lack of space and aesthetic considerations make such locations unsuitable for installing a traditional storage and display unit, such as for example a shelf, a counter or a refrigerating unit.
WO-99/55606 discloses a transport system for processing of returnable drinks cans. The containers are transported end-to-end in a channel. The system comprises a drive device with a pneumatic cylinder and a piston, connected via a piston rod to a plate. The plate is arranged to push a stack of containers through the following duct channel. A sensor detects the presence of a container, and is employed for control of the drive device. The system cannot be considered to comprise a conveyor device for conveying products from a first height level to a second height level different from the first height level, where the conveyor device comprises both a propulsion device which, during a period of a conveyor cycle, moves a product in the product's longitudinal direction, in addition to a retaining device which, during a period of a conveyor cycle, holds a product back in order to counteract undesired movement due to the weight of the product. The system in the publication is adapted to suit returnable empties, and cannot be considered to be suitable for delivery of products such as filled drinks containers at defined, sales-promotional locations.
An initial task that forms the basis of the invention is to provide a device for supplying and presenting products in an area with limited space.
A solution to this initial task is presented in WO-99/63287, belonging to the applicant. A transport system for chilled products such as cans and bottles is disclosed herein. The publication states that containers can be transported and stored in a duct system from a store to a delivery unit installed in a shop. In one embodiment the duct system comprises a transport path with a horizontal section located at ceiling level in height, and a vertical or slanting downwardly directed delivery unit, which brings the products down to a lower height level for delivery. Such a system permits a delivery unit to be placed in a location with limited space, for example above a cash desk.
The publication, however, does not describe detailed solutions for providing a controlled conveying of products from the higher-located, horizontal conveyor path for delivery at a second height level. An object of the present invention, therefore, is to provide a device for controlled transport of products with two end surfaces, such as substantially cylindrical products, from a product intake at a first height level to a product outlet at a second height level, different from the first height level. This means that when a product is removed from the product outlet, a succeeding product will be advanced as quickly as possible to the product outlet.